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Category: Case Studies

by Officer Kyle Roder. Never let an opportunity go to waste. This weekend, the National Football League (NFL) is relaxing its strict uniform policy by allowing individual players to highlight the charities and causes that are personally important to them through the visual canvas of customizing their cleats. The “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign uses a piece of the uniform to show the world who these professional athletes are under their uniforms.

Does this sound familiar? Strict uniform policy? A professional career trying to break stereotypes by focusing on the positive impacts of those who make up the career? Exactly. Never let an opportunity go to waste…and don’t reinvent the wheel.

As I watched the promos for the “My Cause, My Cleats” campaign and the #MyCauseMyCleats hashtag displayed and discussed on Monday Night Football, my social media mind immediately turned the powerful NFL’s campaign into an opportunity for us, police officers, to use their marketing to join them in showcasing our causes as well. We may not be millionaires and shoe companies won’t create custom boots for our officers, but like the NFL players we all have a passion and a cause that makes our world a better place.

Upon seeing the upcoming campaign, I reached out to our officers to hear their stories, some I had known and some I just newly learned. I found that everyone has a story; you just need to find it. Instead of custom cleats, we simply used window chalk markers (easily wipes off) to write the cause on the officers’ boots. Combined with a short narrative and a photo of the officer engaged in the cause, we hope that this is will prove to be an easy, yet valuable social media experience that helps further connect our officers with our community. These are the stories we should be sharing every day.

On Sunday, before the early game kickoffs I will post a simple video proudly showing the causes that drive our officers, displayed on their boots. Additionally, throughout the following week I will post each of the officers’ stories individually. Each of the officers featured have a close connection to their cause. Each example is a real example:

Ronald McDonald House Charities
Officer Bridget Coit and her family found RMHC to be a blessing when complications forced her newborn daughter into an extended stay in a hospital hours from home.

Bob’s House for Dogs
Travis Quella and his family started a rescue shelter for aging dogs after the death of their beloved family dog, Bob.

Epilepsy Foundation
Chief Jerry Staniszewski’s son has been affected by epilepsy since he was young.

To make this bigger than us at the Eau Claire Police Department, I reached out to some of my social media friends (that’s what social media is all about, right?) to expand this across law enforcement, across the country (and maybe beyond). I love what the NFL is doing with this campaign. My hope is that by leveraging the power of the NFL’s #MyCauseMyCleats hashtag, law enforcement can join the NFL players in showing how we are all part of the same community. We invite you to join us!

One of the most difficult things for a law enforcement agency to determine in regards to using social media is identifying content to post and share with their followers.

There is an easy solution for that – just ask.

#TalkingTuesday is a theme our agency has used on Twitter to find out what our agency’s followers are looking for. The best part about #TalkingTuesday is that it’s a win/win situation. Our followers love the fun interaction with a police department and we get to find out what they are looking to hear about from us. What is #TalkingTuesday? I thought you’d never ask.

On any #TalkingTuesday, we will send a tweet out to our followers that says it’s #TalkingTuesday and that our followers are welcome to ask us any questions they’d like. Using the hashtag #TalkingTuesday, we respond to questions asked whether they are law enforcement related or not as long as the content doesn’t violate our social media policy. In addition to identifying content, #TalkingTuesday has four goals:

1) Increase the transparency of participating law enforcement agencies.
2) Promote positive, fun interaction with our followers on Twitter.
3) Increase the followership on our agencies Twitter pages.
4) Show the public that law enforcement officers are fun, normal people like everyone else.

There is a ton of value in law enforcement agencies using social media as a tool to interact and engage with their community members. There is also incredible value in using social media as an investigative tool. Law enforcement agencies have experienced a lot of success in identifying subjects of crimes by requesting information on social media. That success is directly attributed to law enforcement agencies having a large enough base of followers to spread the information to. The more followers you have, the more likely you are to receive the information you are looking for.

#TalkingTuesday is beginning to catch on with other agencies throughout the country. Join us on May 17th as we roll out another edition of #TalkingTuesday, with agencies from Minnesota, Massachusetts and Virginia participating.

About the Author

Tony Zerwas is a Police Officer with the Wyoming Public Safety Department. You can contact the author via email at tzerwas@wyomingmn.org if you have any questions about #TalkingTuesday.

A picture is worth a thousand words and its worth in regard to police legitimacy is priceless.

The history of the “selfie” is extremely short as with the history of most concepts in social media. This I imagine is the reason its importance isn’t yet widely valued in law enforcement (which has a history of being behind the times and slow to change).
According to Huffington Post (link) the selfie originated and evolved from the “MySpace Pic” which was propagated by the influx in popularity of the, then, newly released Facebook.com in 2009. Social media exploded at this point and now in 2016 we find services like Instagram, Snap Chat, and a whole slew of online platforms that encourage the use of the front facing camera which has become standard on mobile devices since the release of the iPhone 4.

The concept is simple, all you have to do is take a picture of yourself (or let others take a picture of you for that matter, for the purpose of this article I broadly use the term “selfie” to reference any sort of photo that is taken of you for the purpose of use on social media). So why aren’t police officers posing for more pictures? I have three theories.

They are afraid they’ll be made fun of. Yes, you read correctly. I firmly believe that many officers refuse to put themselves out-there because they are fearful that they’ll be made fun of. I assure you, if someone is going to make fun of you they absolutely don’t need you to pose for a picture. I was once called the most photographed cop in the nation at a speaking engagement on community relations and to this day I have yet to find a photoshopped image of me (please, don’t take that as an invitation). A way to combat this fear is by being the first to make fun of yourself (when appropriate). When I began using Twitter on the department’s behalf there was a competing parody account which at the time was extremely popular and let’s be honest at times it was hilarious. We had community members and news organizations following the wrong account and I decided that something needed to be done, more on this in a later article. Ultimately, through our tone on social media and through showing the public that we don’t take ourselves too seriously that parody account has since gone dormant.

They fail to see its importance. At times I feel that some of my co-workers think what I do is a joke. They see what I want them to see (after all, no one wants to read tweets or see pictures of me doing my quarterly community engagement reports) and their perception is that my job isn’t more than having a good time at community events and tweeting about donuts and cattle out on the highway. This is where I jokingly mention that some of my PIO friends have more serious things to discuss sometimes. Most of these comments are made out of ignorance that social media and the selfie are both important to law enforcement. They are a small way in which a department can make a big impression. Several months ago, while I was out of the office, a group of college students came to the department as part of a social media scavenger hunt with the goal of getting a photo with a police officer. I was shocked at how long it ended up taking to find someone in uniform to walk out to our lobby and help them. All I ask is that when refusing to take a photo with someone you place yourself in their shoes and consider the feeling of rejection you may be causing (you are creating a negative experience with one of your community members). Also, please don’t have a debate about which officer will be in the photo right in front of the person requesting (this is the “last picked in dodgeball” feeling and it doesn’t reflect well on you or your agency). I’ve taken tons of selfies that honestly at the time I wasn’t really into, but it’s about the overall department image when you are in uniform or in a position that represents your agency and it’s not hard to suck it up and smile. A simple picture spread through social media can have a huge positive impact on your department and it can help strengthen the relationship your department has with your community.
They think that public relations is someone else’s job. This couldn’t be further from the truth. An agency that really has a great relationship with their community didn’t get there by the work of one person, though one person can be the driving force and help push the department toward the end-goal. If the entire department doesn’t jump on board the agency’s message can’t be consistent and consistency is a great way to bolster community support and most importantly, trust. I was once researching ways in which we could create a better customer experience in our speaking engagement program and taken aback by comments a sergeant made to me when I asked why we were cancelling events and not telling anyone. “If we cancel a speaking engagement it’s not my job to inform them, public relations is your job,” in so many words was possibly the most eye opening comment I’ve heard in my time as a PIO. Community relations is an agency endeavor and if there isn’t complete buy-in from the top down you have just become that agency that says one thing and does another. Public relations is everyone’s job, because the PIO can’t be expected to handle every interaction an agency has.

So how does a selfie relate to police legitimacy?

For an agency to be successful they need to have the support of their community. To get this they need to be viewed as legitimate authorities and not overbearing outsiders. It is important for the community to “like” the department as a way to maintain the support the department already has or to begin mending a relationship that through years of separation has crumbled. A selfie is a way to show a somewhat large group of people that a department is willing to interact with their community in a positive way. It shows that the agency is part of the community and that their officers are approachable. It doesn’t cost anything and it takes literally seconds to do. Most importantly, it doesn’t hurt to be nice and accommodate a request that takes such little effort on the officer’s part.

I mentioned that I was once called the most photographed cop in the nation and whether that is true or not I feel now is a good time to offer some tips to help officers take better selfies.

Smile. Everyone can see you’re a cop, you don’t need to look like they do on TV. You’re a human, act like one. Have fun, they are asking to take a picture with you because they like you.

Do a mental checklist. To take a better picture, make sure the camera is held at a level above your nose and remember to slightly lean forward. Roll your shoulders back, stand up straight, and have fun with it. Don’t like the way you look in a selfie that you’ve taken? Try using a filter to mask blemishes.

Get your good side. Don’t pretend that you have no idea what I’m talking about. I’ve found that this is also a good way to make a bigger impression on the subjects in the photo. “Make sure to get my good side” is a great way to get a smile and make the photo a little more memorable.

Maintain integrity. It’s okay to say no when a selfie could be deemed inappropriate. For example, I do not take selfies with people who are holding alcohol or cigarettes. I also do not allow people to wear my handcuffs or unholster any of the tools on my belt. If requested to pose in a fashion that you or your department is not comfortable with, offer an alternative or explain why you are declining that particular request.

So go ahead, when the moment arises jump in, make a “duck face” and show your community that you’re human. Your selfie could be worth a thousand words of support for your agency and it’s a great way to make your day a little more fun.

TL:DR; Selfies are a simple way that officers can show their community that they are approachable, fun, part of the community, and deserving of support. They should be embraced and for goodness sake, when someone goes out of their way to show that they value you enough to want your picture, say cheese.

Matthew Droge, PIO

Riley County Police Department Public Information Officer Matthew Droge, The #TwitterCop, has served as a sworn officer since October 2010 and has served as PIO since early 2013. He currently facilitates the social media accounts as well as acts as the department’s public relations office. Through Droge’s service at Riley County Police Department he has been assigned to Patrol (Swing and Midnight shifts), the Police Bike Unit, and the Administration Division. In 2014 he became a member of the Kansas Association of the Public Information Officers as well as the National Information Officers Association and is the former President of MARPC (The Manhattan Area Risk Prevention Coalition, which reorganized into “RED” in late 2014). Droge was elected to the Riley County Extension Council’s Community Development board of four community members in 2014. Prior to working at RCPD, Droge worked as an internationally recognized and awarded photographer and graphic designer. He was raised in Kansas and has lived and worked in Arizona and California. He has been awarded several accolades for community service including the Jefferson Award and received the Meritorious Service award for his work on the department’s internet presence in 2012/2013 as well as a letter of appreciation for the department’s website and is a recipient of the department’s professionalism award. Droge is available as a consultant for crisis communication and public relations and has conducted training for public informations officers in several different industries. Speaking engagements can be scheduled upon request.

The third Global Police Tweet-a-thon is just behind us. According to Bright Planet the third #poltwt saw over 15,000 original tweets from 1,000 unique users. A map of the officially registered users is on Google.

It had the ingredients for a traffic disaster: a Monday evening rush hour on the notoriously clogged Capital Beltway combined with a 7:05 pm kick-off for the Washington Redskins’ 2013 season home opener in Landover, Maryland.

But the Prince George’s County Police Department, whose headquarters borders FedEx Field, home of the Redskins’ stadium, decided to tackle the traffic challenge head-on. The department’s Media Relations Division developed a plan to inform the community about one of the most talked about topics in the Washington, DC area on any day of the year: traffic. The PGPD created “Game Time,” an information-sharing social media event. The department began tweeting on the Friday before the Monday Night Football game against the Redskins’ nearby NFC East rival the Philadelphia Eagles. Using the hashtag #GameTime, one member of the Media Relations Division coordinated with the police department’s Special Operations Division, which oversees all events at FedEx Field, to determine which information and images to tweet and when.

NFL games are major events for the PGPD with some 200 officers handling security and traffic. There is a large control room within FedEx Field where the Special Ops commanders keep a watchful eye on activities both in and around the stadium. Relying on a large bank of traffic cameras surveying the major arteries near the 90,000-person stadium, the Media Relations Division was able to see and then share traffic news in real time as the 7:05pm kickoff approached.

Various local media outlets gave advance coverage to “Game Time”, advising viewers, listeners and reader that the police department’s Twitter handle, @PGPDNews, would be tweeting traffic news during the potentially disastrous evening commute. This included the widely-followed The Washington Post’s traffic Twitter handle, @DrGridlock.

To maintain the momentum of the media coverage and to help game-goers plan, Media Relations began tweeting #GameTime news at about 3:30pm, 3 1/2 hours before the game began. In an attempt to crowd source traffic information, the PGPD solicited commuter input & specifically tried to discourage the notion of having drivers tweeting while behind the wheel:

At about 5 pm, this basic tweet prompted 12 retweets, or sharing of the police department’s message:

The Department’s message was spreading:

A parking logistics coordinator working for the Washington Redskins noted during the event it seemed to him the advance media coverage and the possibility of gridlock might be having an effect – not just on game attendees but on rush hour commuters as well. The parking lots, both he and police commanders noted, were filling up much earlier than expected.

The major roadways were far less congested than expected as kick-off neared. Drivers had planned ahead and arrived at the stadium well in advance.

A PGPD Special Operations Division helicopter flying above the stadium offered aerial images of traffic and the parking lots. Those tweets generated a lot of retweets, indicating the appetite for information included an appreciation for social media aesthetics.

In addition to the media coverage generated by the event, the PGPD advertised for “Game Time” in the days leading up to the game on Twitter, since that’s where the event would take place. However, to encourage crossover followers, the event was also advertised on the department’s Facebook page.

What ticket holders and commuters alike took away from the “Game Time” experience isn’t easily measured. Based on media coverage, the 38 new @PGPDNews followers gained that day and positive response from existing @PGPDNews followers, the department deemed the event a success.

The next similar event is planned for the week before Thanksgiving. Look for @PGPDNews to host #OperationOutlets on November 22, 2013. The grand opening for a new outlets mall in Prince George’s County is expected to draw more than 20,000 visitors and could lead to traffic tie-ups. To try and prevent that, the PGPD’s Special Operations Division’s Traffic Enforcement Unit and the Media Relations Division will again team up, returning to Twitter to once again keep citizens informed.

Julie Parker serves as the Director of the Media Relations Division for the Prince George’s County (MD) Police Department, the nation’s 28th largest law enforcement agency. The PGPD straddles Washington, D.C. and spans 500 square miles of urban, suburban, and rural populations. Prince George’s County is home to the University of Maryland at College Park, the Washington Redskins, and NASA headquarters with an approximate population of 900,000. Parker serves as principal communications advisor to the Chief of Police & other executive command staff and is responsible for key messages and media strategy, to include during crisis situations. She promotes and achieves positive news stories at an unprecedented level for this police department. Parker manages a 13-person division comprised of sworn and civilian public information officers, video production specialists, graphic designer, Crime Solvers coordinator and special projects professional. Parker is also a frequent guest lecturer at the FBI National Academy on law enforcement media relations and crisis communications. She’s a recognized leader in using social media for innovative community outreach, media relations, crisis communications, targeted branding and messaging. Parker spent 13 years reporting and anchoring in Washington, DC, most recently for ABC7 News where she won both an Emmy Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award.

About ConnectedCOPS

The vision behind ConnectedCOPS is to enhance law officers’ ability to succeed with social media tools by providing insight, encouragement, education and the overall support required. It is also to promote the insightful thoughts of the law enforcement social media visionaries by providing them a voice on this blog.